Kept
by whohasamonkey
Summary: [OneShot] Sakura has a problem. She can't seem to get her own personal demon out of her head. It doesn't help that the mission she's assigned to has someone who reminds her of her demon.


**Title:** Kept

**Author:** caro8

Written for 20loves  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Pairing:** Sakura/OC  
**Challenge:** #25, #27  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Warning: **Some suggestive sexual situations  
**Spoilers:** None, it's my own warped reality

--

Kept

--

"So I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

Sakura watched the ninja close the front door behind him. For the life of her she couldn't remember his name. She lay in bed for a while before finally getting up and locked the door. Slowly she made her way to the bathroom. The light hurt her eyes. She plugged the tub and started the water. As she waited for the tub to fill Sakura looked at herself in the mirror.

She looked tired, at least her face did. Her body looked fine. None of her scars distracted from her other obvious features. Well, her face did kill the look. Maybe she should try to get out of the mission she had scheduled tonight. Or maybe she should try to get more sleep before the mission started. Sleep sounded good, but she doubted she'd get any.

As she got in the tub she smiled. Finally something was going right. The water was perfect. Perfect depth, and perfect temperature. She grabbed a towel and rolled it up behind her head. She had planned on actually bathing, but why waste this moment. As she closed her eyes she lifted her leg and threw it over the edge of the tub. The only sound she could hear was her own breathing and the water dripping from her foot to the floor.

Yes this was a perfect moment. One that she knew she wouldn't get again.

--

"I can't replace you on the team on such short notice."

"I understand." She knew the Hokage wouldn't excuse her, but at least she tried.

"Meet them at the gate at 7pm."

After a quick bow, Sakura picked up her pack and made her way to the gate. She wasn't really sure who the other members of the team were going to be. She cursed herself for not reading the mission assignment carefully. All she paid attention to nowadays was the mission rank and the mission assignment date and time. Details didn't really matter to her. Her assignment was always the same. Ensure the health of those on the team. Being a medical nin had its benefits and drawbacks. She always had the same assignment. The drawback, she always had the same assignment. She knew she was good, really good at what she did and that made her on high demand. Not many medical nins wanted to take missions, mostly because they weren't very good at fighting. Sakura was good at defending herself as well. But the reason for that was a whole other story.

"Did we keep you waiting long Sakura-chan?"

"No. I just got here myself." When was the last time she went on a mission with Naruto? She felt nostalgic seeing him in full ninja garb, instead of the lounge clothes he would wear around her. For someone who wanted to advance in the ninja ranks so badly, Naruto rarely walked around the village in his jounin vest. Then again everyone already knew his rank. Everyone also knew he was the favorite to replace Tsunade. That knowledge made her smile. As for the other nin with Naruto, he made her feel other things. She'd never met him before but he looked just like her constant tormentor.

Her own personal demon.

"Sakura, this is Kalin. Kalin meet Sakura-chan."

"Sakura-san."

She felt her skin melt. His voice rolled all over her. The dark eyes and long dark hair didn't help either. He even had the silent confidence her demon had. The only thing Kalin lacked was arrogance. She quickly turned and started walking out of the village. Sakura knew her face was red. But she couldn't help admire him, she only hoped neither Kalin nor Naruto noticed.

"Sakura, wait up." Sakura didn't slow down. She knew Naruto would catch up to her. "Look I know he seems a bit uptight, but give him a chance. He's a good nin, and you'll warm up to him."

Sakura merely smiled at Naruto as he passed her. Kalin quickly joined Naruto at the front. As soon as Kalin was within range Naruto started to talk his ear off. Leave it to Naruto to make friends with some of the most anti-social ninja's in the village. Sakura watched as Kalin pulled out a map and motioned to the trees. She tightened her pack and followed the duo through the trees.

At this pace she might make it back home in time for a late lunch.

--

After traveling for a few hours, it was decided that they should stop and rest for a bit. Sakura wasn't really sure who made that decision, but she welcomed it. She watched as Naruto puffed up his pack and laid his head on it. Kalin leapt up a nearby tree and perched himself at the highest branch. Sakura made sure no one was paying attention as she rummaged through her pack. It took her a while but she finally found the mission assignment. As she read it she was surprised at how simple the mission was. Go to the village, find the informant, get a scroll from him and come home. The only reason the mission was ranked so high was because they would be traveling very close to the Sound territory.

Nothing major. Just a simple retrieval mission. Yup, she'd be home in time for lunch. Yet she couldn't get her heart to stop beating so fast.

--

"What do you mean no one knows where the scroll is?"

Naruto was getting loud, louder than usual. This was not good. As soon as they arrived the villagers had dragged them to the bed of what seemed like a dieing man. Turns out he was the one who was supposed to give them the scroll, but he had fallen ill. To make matters worse they were just told that he was the only one who knew the location of that scroll. To make matters worse he was too sick to talk.

Sakura hoped to a god somewhere that that scroll had the cure for cancer in it.

"Let me examine him."

Shifting into medical mode, Sakura removed her pack and made her way to the bed. Naruto asked everyone to leave the room. Sakura waited until the room was empty before she channeled her chakra to her hands and started to run them up and down his body. She looked in his mouth and listened to his heart and lungs. When she was done she leaned on the bed and hung her head. This was going to take some time.

"So, how bad is it?"

Sakura wiped the sweat off her forehead and made her way to a nearby chair. "Bad. He has pneumonia, and his weak blood isn't helping. If I try to heal him I'm worried he might never wake up."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"I can try, but his blood might complicate things." Sighing deeply, Sakura got up and started to pace. She found out years ago that pacing helped her think.

"We should notify the Hokage." Sakura turned, startled. She didn't even notice Kalin in the room until he spoke. "I know where the villagers keep the messenger birds."

As he walked out he looked at Sakura. The moment only lasted less than a second but it was enough to make Sakura walk towards the window and try to catch her breath. His voice alone made her melt. But his look could probably make her clothes melt. His voice was nothing like her demon's voice.

"So Sakura, need help?"

"Uh, yeah. Let me gather some supplies. I'm going to need you to lend me some chakra."

"No problem I can do that."

--

Sakura opened her eyes to a glass of water being shoved in her face.

"Drink this." She looked from the glass, to Kalin and back to the glass. Slowly she grabbed the glass and tasted the water. It was the greatest tasting water she had ever had. Before she knew it, she had guzzled it all down. "The man will live. Naruto is with him right now waiting for him to wake up so he can get the scroll."

His voice sent shivers down her body. "Where am I?"

"The village provided us a room. I brought you here. You were tired from the trip and healing him didn't help with your fatigue."

He had carried her. If only she could remember how his body felt against hers. "Oh, thank you."

Sakura moved to get out of the bed. Being in bed and hearing him talk was making her mind drift to thoughts she shouldn't be having at the moment. But as soon as she stood her knees gave out on her. She expected to feel the floor, instead she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

"You alright?"

His smell seemed to float off of him and onto her. It was so deep and masculine. He had spoken to her with is mouth so close to her ear. His voice made the muscles in her lower back tighten. Slowly she turned her head to look at him. From this close, he looked nothing like her demon.

"Yeah, I'll be alright."

She knew what she was doing. She knew how she was looking at him, and how she was moving against him, and it was working. His eyes slowly became hooded. She watched as his gaze lowered to her neck and shoulders. Sakura slowly lifted her chin, but kept her eyes on Kalin. He tightened his arms around her waist, and she brought hers around his neck. She watched him as he leaned in and kissed her exposed neck. The last thought she had before turning into a pile of goo was, 'I'm gonna be so tired when I get home.'

--

"Go home Sakura."

"No, and don't ask me again."

"It wasn't a question." Sakura smiled and sat down on the bench next to him. "Do you get pleasure out of seeing me like this?"

"No." She turned her gaze to him, and suddenly felt very sad. "I should have tried harder to save you."

He looked at her then, and for the first time she felt like he was really looking at her. She examined his face. One side looked like the man she had loved, the other side a monster she never knew. She reached up and touched the black marks on his face. Strangely the marks complimented his yellow eye.

"They're warm."

"They burn."

Without really thinking it through, Sakura leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Later she'd tell herself she was simply taking advantage of the fact that he was broken and not his usual self. Later she'd tell herself that that is a really stupid excuse for kissing his cheek.

That one small sign of affection was enough for him. That night she saw a side of him that broke her heart. For someone who received so little affection in his life, she was amazed at how much affection he was capable of. She cried later that night when she went home and relived the moment in her head.

"Let me keep you."

She agreed, not really understanding the meaning behind the words. But the day of his execution, she understood. As he stood on the platform in front of everyone, she knew. He had her. He would always have her. She cried again then. He had her, but she wouldn't have him. She'd spend the rest of her life looking for him, and never finding him.

--

"Good job everyone. Sakura stay for a minute and tell me about the man's condition and what method you used."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

Sakura waited until Naruto and Kalin were out of the room before taking a seat. She couldn't help but sigh as she sat down. Fatigue was starting to hit her again.

"I want you to take a week off of work."

Now that woke her up. "What? Why?"

"You need it. No hospital duty, no missions, nothing. You need some rest, and it's well deserved."

"Okay." Sakura grabbed her pack and started for the door. What the hell was she going to do with herself for a week?

"Oh and Sakura. Good work on this mission. "

"Thank you Tsunade-shishou." She really had been feeling nostalgic these past few days.

--

Watching the sunset was always one of her favorite things to do. And there was no better place to watch it than the Hokage monument. For years this place had become one of her favorite places to go. Sakura felt she could clear her head, think things through. All her problems seemed like they didn't really matter. Being up there made her feel like everything was going to be alright.

"Mind if I join you?"

Sakura smiled. She hadn't seen him in a while. "Of course you can Kakashi."

He moved next to her and leaned up against a rock. Out of the corner of her eye she watched him pull out a book and begin to read. Leave it to him to come to a wonderful place and read a cheesy romance novel.

"Naruto told me the new volume should be coming out soon. He said Jirayia was cooped up in his room for a long time."

"How can you read those books?" Sakura couldn't help but remember the one time she let her curiosity take over. She had read a few pages once and almost gagged. It was a little too mushy for her.

"It's my hobby. Haven't you noticed everyone has a hobby. It distracts ninjas from the reality of their lives. I have my books, Naruto his jutsus, Tsunade her gambling, Jirayia writes, Ino has her flowers, Shikamaru has Go, Iruka teaches, and the list goes on and on."

Sakura remained silent. It had never really dawned on her. Everyone had all these little things they did.

"Actually I don't think you have a hobby Sakura."

Sakura turned around and faced Kakashi. "What are you talking about? I have the hospital and my patients."

"That's work." She watched Kakashi step towards her and lower his gaze to her face. "Sasuke had his revenge, what do you have?"

Sakura couldn't help but lower her eyes. She would never get used to hearing his name. Not after everything. She knew she had something, but she couldn't really tell Kakashi. It wasn't anything as innocent as reading books, or taking care of flowers.

"Oh look the sun set. It was nice talking to you Sakura."

--

"…so then I told him to leave her alone before I kick his ass."

"Let me guess he laughed at you, called you short and you kicked his ass."

Sakura laughed at the pout on Naruto's face. Hearing his exaggerated stories always made her day better.

"He didn't call me short. But yeah I did kick his ass."

Sakura grabbed a cookie and handed it to Naruto. "Oh stop pouting you big baby. You know I didn't mean anything by it."

"Didn't have to call me short." Sakura laughed again and grabbed his cup to refill it. From the kitchen she heard Naruto getup and stretch. Come to think of it, he had been at her place for a couple hours now. "Sakura-chan, I have to get going. I have a mission tomorrow."

"Do you really have to go?"

"Hey, I didn't get a week off like a certain someone I know."

Sakura glared at Naruto and went back to the kitchen. "Well good luck. I'll see you when you get back."

"Bye Sakura-chan."

Sakura went decided not to refill the glasses like she originally planned. No need for it now. Instead she went all through the apartment and gathered all the dirty dishes. There weren't that many, a benefit to living alone. She was just finishing them when there was a knock on her door. She grabbed a towel and dried her hands as she made her way to the door.

When she opened the door she almost dropped the towel.

"Sakura-san."

"Kalin, what brings you here?"

"May I come in?"

She wanted to slam the door in his face. She wanted him to slam her against the door, and some of the other furniture in the apartment. But she didn't let him know that. "Of course. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, I'm fine thank you."

As Sakura shut the door behind Kalin, she watched him as he looked around. His gaze seemed to linger on pictures she had on the walls. Finally spotting the couch, he walked over to it and sat down.

"So…what's up?" She mentally punched herself for making the situation even more awkward.

""You're not used to this are you?"

"Used to what?"

"Seeing them again." Even though the statement was vague Sakura knew exactly what he was talking about. She felt her face slowly showing the shock she was feeling. "Guys talk among themselves. Not one has ever seen you more than once. But there are also dozens who have never seen you at all. After our encounter I wondered why that was. So I did some research."

"Stop right there." Her shock was being slowly eaten away by anger. "You gathered information on me. What were the manly talks you listened in on not enough for you?"

Kalin moved forward on the couch and held out his hands. "It's not like that. You intrigued me. I also wanted to see if, maybe I could be the one guy you see again."

"What?" The confusion was back. "You know about me, and yet you want to see me again. Maybe you're more messed up than I am."

Kalin feel silent then. He lowered his hands and sat back on the couch. He looked like the man she had met the first time. Silent and confidant. It frightened her a bit. "You miss him don't you?"

"What?"

"All the men you've been with share some features with him. Silent, dark, loners. That's why you've never gone after Naruto. That's why you went after me. You're looking for him."

"Look, don't lecture me about something you know nothing about." Sakura felt naked in sitting in front of him. He had peeled her apart so perfectly she didn't know what to do. She frantically looked around for an escape, when she found none she decided to screw it all. "I want you to leave. Now."

She stood and moved toward the front door to emphasize her point, but he stopped her. His hand was warm and somewhat comforting around her wrist. "My mother loved my father with all her heart." Sakura turned and looked at him. Where the hell did that statement come from? "Let me finish. She loved him. She used to tell me that he was her soul mate. The man of her dreams. There would be no other. Then when I was 15 he was killed in a mission. My mother mourned him death terribly. She told me she would never love again. For years she stayed a widow, and for years I told her to find happiness again. Then one day she found it. She married this man, and he makes her incredibly happy. Do you know why she finally decided to marry again?"

"No."

"He was nothing like my father. Instead of trying to find a replacement for him, she found someone who could make her happy. There is no other man like my father. There never will be. My stepfather is not my father, but he is a good man. He makes my mother smile again. And she isn't conflicted. She doesn't worry about comparing the two men because they are so different."

Sakura lowered her gaze. She suddenly felt stupid. Stupid and transparent. She wasn't sure she knew how to do what Kalin's mother did. If maybe it was too late for her.

"That's a really nice story, and I'm happy for your mother, but I don't think it'll work for me."

"Why is that?"

"It just won't."

Kalin pulled her close. Their bodies weren't touching except for the hand on Sakura's wrist. Sakura closed her eyes. She didn't want him to see her cry. But the attempt was futile as a few tears slipped down her face. She felt his feather touch brush away the tears.

"I am nothing like him." Sakura opened her eyes to look at him. He looked so comforting. "Yes I am quiet, but only to those I don't know. I'm not seeking revenge. I don't live alone, actually I live with my younger brother." He laughed and she smiled at the comment. "I'm not the brooding type, I won't say one thing and do another to spare my male ego. And most importantly, I don't look like him."

Sakura lowered her eyes and laughed softly. "No you don't." She lifted her eyes and looked at him again. She wondered how she could have compared him to Sasuke to begin with. They really were completely different.

"What did he do to you to make you look for him?"

"He kept me." Sakura watched Kalin's eyebrows draw together in confusion.

"No he didn't. He let you go. You are the one holding on."

Sakura smiled. She knew it was a sad smile, but she didn't care. She closed the space between them and hugged him. "Then help me let go."

--

Sakura rolled over and looked at the alarm clock next to her bed.

3:04am

What the hell was she doing awake? Sakura threw herself back and groaned. She looked at the space next to her. Kalin was gone. She probably scared him off. She didn't blame him for leaving. She would have run for the hills too.

As she lay in bed, Sakura heard a noise in coming from the kitchen. She jumped out of bed quickly and quietly. As she moved around the bed she grabbed the kunai she kept at the foot of the bed under the mattress. She could hear someone walking around the kitchen. They were trying to be quiet, and not doing a good job at it. Walking the few feet to her kitchen, Sakura tightened her grip on the kunai. Right before she ran into the kitchen, she felt the person in the kitchen stop. They knew she was there.

"Sakura wait! It's me!"

She slammed Kalin into the counter. He had leaned to the left just as Sakura brought down the kunai. She missed his throat, but her cabinets weren't so lucky. Neither was her counter. She had broken a few ceramic tiles when she slammed Kalin into it.

"Damnit."

"I know someone who can fix that."

"I thought you left."

"I was thirsty. But I couldn't find a cup." Kalin looked over his shoulder to the shattered cabinet. "Oh there they are." Sakura groaned and started walking back to the bedroom. "Hey, why would you think I left?"

"They always leave."

"I told you, I'm not them."

Sakura looked over her should at Kalin. He looked incredibly sexy in his boxers and nothing else. He wiggled his shoulders at her, which caused a few glasses to fall out of the cabinet.

"I don't know if I should kiss you or hit you?"

"Well since you've already tried to kill me, I think you should kiss me."

"Clean up in here, and we'll see."

"Oh and your sadistic, I like that."

Sakura laughed all the way to the bedroom. No doubt about it, Kalin was nothing like Sasuke. As she looked out the window, she pictured Sasuke. His flawless face with black marks and a yellow eye. Maybe when he asked to keep her, he meant that one moment. He wanted to keep her just like that. She smiled. He did keep her. She would never be that innocent girl that walked into his cell. That girl was gone. The person she was now would also change. But this time, hopefully, she'd have someone she could change with.

"Sakura, you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking." Kalin came up next to her and brushed her hair behind her ear. "What's your hobby?"

"I'll tell you, but don't laugh." Sakura moved over to the bed and sat down. She had a feeling this was going to be good. Kalin smiled and lay down across the foot of the bed. "I write poetry."

"What?"

"I said don't laugh."

"I'm not laughing."

"You are on the inside. Anyway, that's how I got my reputation for being quiet. When I walk around the village and I see something that inspires me I'll think of a poem. Then later when I get the chance I'll write it down. I have tons of notebooks at home with short little poems."

Sakura thought back to when she first met Kalin. At least know she knew why he perched himself up the tree. He didn't want anyone to see him write. "Did you write some about me?"

"Three notebooks. That's why I was kinda quiet around you. You gave me alot of inspiration. What about you, what's your hobby?"

"I don't really have one."

"Well go get you one tomorrow then."

"Alright. Just as long as it doesn't require me to read Icha Icha, I'm good."

"What! Those are masterpieces!"

Sakura threw a pillow at Kalin. Leave it to her to find the number two fan of Jirayia's books. As she pummeled Kalin with another pillow, she couldn't help but smile. Definitely nothing like Sasuke.


End file.
